lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

116

BAGAN & CENTRAL MYANMAR

BAGAN

Nyaung U

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A bustling river town with more happening

than you’ll fi nd elsewhere in Bagan, Nyaung

U is where most independent travellers hang

their hat (or backpack). Roaming the back

roads towards the jetty or stopping at scrap-

py teashops will attract friendly wide-eyed

looks. There are a handful of temples to see,

including the Shwezigon Paya (p 164 ), and a

lively market. Visitors staying in New or Old

Bagan tend to make it here, if not for the

restaurant scene (the closest the Bagan area

gets to nightlife) then for the transport links.

Guesthouses and roadside restaurants

now push a couple of miles west, along the

road to Old Bagan, reaching the small vil-

lage of Wetkyi-in (Giant Pig). The town was

named for a mythical pig that, per local leg-

end, inhabited the lake there and killed a lot

of people before being killed by a future king

of Bagan.

 1 Sights & Activities

FThanakha Gallery MUSEUM, SHOP

(%60179; cnr Yarkinnthar Hotel Rd & Main Rd;

h9am-9pm) Claiming that it’s the ‘Only One

Thanakha Gallery In the World’, this sizeable

complex has a small gallery devoted to the

myriad medicinal and cosmetic uses of the

thanakha tree (Limonia acidissima) – from

its roots to its bark. It has a small plantation

of the trees, around which bounce a posse

of cute bunny rabbits, to which you can

feed bunches of greens. Really, the place is

a glorifi ed shop for the thanakha cosmetics

of Shwe Pyi Nann (www.shwepyinann.com),

as well as a good range of other Bagan and-

Myanmar souvenirs. A restaurant, internet

cafe and beauty salon round out the complex.

Bagan Nyaung U Golf Club GOLF

(%60035; http://www.bagangolfresort.net/golfclub.html;

green fee incl clubs & caddy $42; h6am-6pm) Just

south of town, this government-owned facil-

ity run now by the Amazing Bagan Resort

has about half a dozen pagodas scattered

around its 18-hole, par-72 course.

 4 Sleeping

Nyaung U’s main road has several cheap, in-

terchangeable guesthouses (not listed below),

which off er rooms for about $10. For that price

you can expect a boxy room with a lazy ceil-

ing fan, concrete or tiled fl oors and attached

bathroom with (supposedly) hot water, and

sometimes even an old air-conditioning unit.

Guesthouses off Yarkinnthar Hotel Rd (aka

Restaurant Row) are away from traffi c noise.

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Nyaung U e#0500m00.25miles
‚
To Boat
Jetty (1 mi)
‚
To Bagan Princess Hotel
(0.3 mi); Golden Express Hotel
(0.4 mi); Winner Guest House (0.4 mi) ‚
To Amazing Bagan
Resort (0.4mi);
Airport (2 mi);
Train Station (2.5 mi)